What will I turn this to? she wondered. I’ve always liked silver.
‘Then die!’ Feliton screeched. ‘Die!’
Ka-boom!
But the explosion was not from her own vessel. The sound was the last dying gasp of the Xavier. Ebony stared in amazement as the ship exploded, and a voice came over the communicator.
‘Ebony?’
‘Chad?’ She said in amazement. ‘How did you—I mean, what—’
‘Don’t worry about that now. We’ll have you back on board in a minute.’
Half an hour later, the vessels had docked, and Ebony was back on the Sorcerer as it zoomed towards Gastara.
‘So how did you find me?’ she asked.
‘It was Mister Okada’s idea,’ Chad said. ‘He suggested that Garan scan for radioactive hot spots in the asteroid field. One of them lit up like a light bulb.’ Grudgingly, he turned to the alien. ‘Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Mister Okada said.
The Sorcerer dropped out of FTL drive.
Garan swore. ‘We’re too late,’ he said. ‘They’re here.’
The market world lay before them. The space around it had been empty of ships before, but now hundreds of vessels surrounded it.
‘They’re here?’ Quinn said. ‘Who’s here?’
‘The Tagaar,’ Garan said. ‘They’re invading Gastara.’
Chapter Seventeen
I don’t know how long we sat silently on the shattered bridge of Liber8tor. It seemed like hours. When I looked up, only the emergency lighting was working. Half the consoles were off or dimmed. A faint hissing came from under a bench. The outer view screen was working but filled with static. We had struck so hard that one of the windows had also cracked.
‘Brodie?’ I said.
‘This is all my fault.’
‘It’s not.’
‘If I’d been able to land the ship—’
‘You did the best you could. We’re going to be all right. We’re going to achieve our mission and return to Earth.’
‘Achieve our mission...’ Her voice trailed off as she stared into my eyes. ‘Are you crazy? We’re not even on the right planet! Even if we were, we’re thousands of light-years from Earth, and we have no way to contact the others—if they’re even alive. And now look at the ship. It’ll never fly again.’ She swallowed hard. ‘We’re finished.’
I didn’t know what to say. Brodie was right about everything she was saying, and I couldn’t deny it.
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I agree. Things have never looked so bad.’ I stopped, casting my mind back over the last year. ‘Do you remember when we first met? When we first got our powers? You saved me, and we spent the night in that warehouse? It rained. Hard. It hammered down on the tin roof all night.’ I peered through the cracked window at the distant sky. ‘I think about that night a lot. I think about listening to the rain, and realizing things weren’t so bad.’
‘Weren’t so bad?’ Brodie said, crinkling her nose. ‘We were on the run and fighting for our lives.’
I nodded. ‘But I wasn’t alone anymore. I had you with me. It wasn’t just me against the world. It was us. And that hasn’t changed. Chad and the rest are out there—somewhere—and they’re not giving up. I know they’re not. They’ll find us, or die trying.’
Brodie sighed. ‘We might not survive this,’ she said. ‘Death is a very real possibility.’
‘Death is always a possibility. You don’t need to be a superhero stranded on an alien world thousands of light-years from Earth.’
‘But it helps.’ Brodie gave me a crooked smile. ‘All right, I’m not giving up, and neither are you. So what will we do?’
‘First, we need to find a way off this world.’
‘So we need to find a ship.’
‘There were plenty of ships transporting supplies from Pantara to Tagaar.’
Brodie checked one of the operating consoles. ‘If this is right,’ she said, ‘there’s a settlement a few miles from here. They might be able to help us.’ She sighed. ‘Or if they’re Tagaar warriors, they’ll attack and eat us.’
‘The Tagaar don’t eat people. At least, I don’t think they do.’
Clambering from the remains of the ship, I saw a large crack running all the way through the hull. We were right about one thing. Liber8tor—or this half of it—would never fly again.
The sound of a spaceship came from above. Through gaps in the foliage, we saw a Tagaar warship cutting across the sky.
‘Do you think they’re looking for us?’ Brodie asked.
‘I’m sure they are. They’re trying to solve the mystery of the disappearing space ship. We shouldn’t fly. Sticking to the ground will be safer.’
We traipsed through the jungle. The upper canopy of trees looked like giant palms. They soared a hundred feet overhead, and grew so densely that it was almost dark among the grey-green ferns that covered the forest floor. It was warm in the jungle, and it wasn’t long before I was wiping my brow.
‘We should have brought water,’ Brodie said.
‘I know. If we’re lucky, there’ll be a shop.’
‘I could do with a can of Coke.’
‘A burger, too.’
‘Yep. A burger.’
We became aware of a whirring in the distance. It grew louder as we continued through the undergrowth. It was the sound of machinery.
‘The ground is shaking,’ Brodie said.
‘I wonder what’s going on.’
The noise increased as we ascended a hill. A plume of smoke rose from the other side, and we inhaled the smell of burning plastic. We crept over the rise and peered into a shallow valley that was as different as the jungle we’d just walked through.
It was as if a giant had come in with a digging tool and decided to create as much devastation as possible. A mining operation had carved a huge hole into the side of the hill where a tunnel disappeared into the ground. Aliens of many races, dressed in rags and looking dirty and unkempt, were carrying bags of ore on their backs.
Their loads were being taken to some sort of automated spaceships. There was a line of them waiting to be loaded. One took off, spewing a black cloud of pollution over the workers. They didn’t react. Possibly this was an everyday occurrence.
They were obviously slaves. At the side of the trail where they labored were the skeletons of workers who had died. Their bodies had been left there—possibly as a form of sadistic reminder to those left behind: work or die.
Rage boiled up inside of me. ‘There are no guards around,’ I said, starting to rise. ‘We’ve got to save those people!’
‘Wait!’ Brodie grabbed my arm. ‘Look at their necks.’
I peered down. She was right. There were bright red collars around their necks.
‘What do you think they’re for?’ I asked.
‘I bet they’re some kind of punishment device in case they step out of line.’
It made sense. The collars probably monitored their location, how much they were carrying, and how fast. I dreaded to think of what kind of pain they endured if they tried to escape.
‘What can we do?’ I asked in dismay.
‘Nothing—for the moment.’ Brodie grabbed my arm. ‘You were right in what you said before. If we succeed in our mission, we’ll free the whole galaxy, and not just the handful of people here.’
We scampered through the jungle. Reaching the trail, we watched the slaves trudge along with the loads on their backs. Once again, I felt fury at seeing their predicament, but Brodie was right: the mission had to come first.
There was a gap in the procession of workers. Brodie stuck her head out between some ferns and waved at a woman coming towards us. She had bird-like features. Covered in fine, gray feathers, she moved as if she were very old. Her eyes opened in surprise.
‘Who...who are you?’ she asked.
‘We’re friends,’ Brodie said. The woman introduced herself as Peedan. Quickly explaining that we needed to get to Tagaar, she s
aid, ‘We need your help.’
‘There are no guards here,’ Peedan said. ‘The Tagaar keep us under control by using the collars.’
‘And transport ships?’ I asked.
‘They’re automated. You could hide in the hold.’ She paused. ‘But you won’t last a minute on Tagaar.’
‘What do you mean?’ Brodie asked.
‘You need collars. Without them—’ Peedan cried out in pain. ‘The collars deliver an electric shock if I tarry too long,’ she explained. ‘We must walk.’
Brodie and I climbed out from refuge and joined her on the path. Some of the other slaves looked at us in amazement, but no one said anything.
‘There are many slaves on Tagaar, but they all wear collars,’ Peedan said. ‘If you don’t have one, you’ll be arrested on sight.’
‘How will we get collars?’ I asked.
‘Use the ones from the dead,’ Peedan said. ‘The collars stop working once the wearer dies.’
I peered at a pair of nearby skeletons. Going near them was the last thing I wanted to do, but it seemed the only alternative. I gave them a respectful nod.
I promise to make things right.
I gingerly removed two of the collars. They were identical to the ones the others wore but were not powered. We clipped them on. They were lightweight and seemingly harmless. It was chilling to think of the power they possessed.
We followed Peedan along a ramp that overlooked the transport craft. The vessel below was similar to Liber8tor but longer and flatter. It was now almost full of ore. Peedan dumped her load into the waiting ship.
‘The ship will take you to the outskirts of the capital—Zantar.’
‘Thank you,’ Brodie said. ‘We’ll find our way from there.’
Peedan started to turn away.
‘Thank you for everything you’ve done,’ I said.
She stared at us with pity in her face. ‘Don’t thank me,’ she said. ‘By helping you, I’ve probably condemned you to death.’
Chapter Eighteen
I flew us down to the cargo hold where we nestled in among the rocks. Slaves continued to dump loads into the hold for the next few minutes until the door above us slid shut. The darkness was total. It was like being buried in a coffin.
Brodie took my hand. ‘I wonder how long this will take,’ she said.
Before I could answer, the vessel shook as the engines came to life. The racket was deafening. The hold wasn’t meant to take passengers. Releasing Brodie’s hand, I put my hands over my ears. This was going to be an uncomfortable journey.
The ship lurched into the air, and I fell against Brodie. Ore toppled onto us. I formed an air barrier around us, protecting us from the jostling rocks as the roar of the engines subsided.
I sighed. There wasn’t anything to do other than endure the journey. The engines whined, and then we were pushed back as the ship ascended. Despite my barrier, the pressure was still terrible.
Brodie yelled something to me, but I couldn’t hear her.
As I lay there, I thought of the comfort of Asgard base. It seemed a long time ago already, but now I couldn’t help but wish we were back there. I closed my eyes. Soon the shaking of the ship diminished as we reached orbit. Then there was another firing of the engines, and we were thrown back against the ore again.
How long is this going to take?
Brodie yelled again, but this time I could make out her words. ‘We must have left Pantara’s atmosphere,’ she said.
The dust was thick in the closed environment, and some of it was in the air bubble I had created around us. I sneezed. Then I sneezed again.
‘Gesundheit!’ Brodie yelled.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Here we were in this terrible situation, and she could still make light of things.
The minutes passed. Finally, I felt the ship’s angle change, and I realized we had started our descent towards Tagaar. Our rate of speed increased, and I had to focus on keeping the air bubble around us.
Brodie fell against me and held my arm. I was suddenly aware of how close her face was to me. In the dark, her breath was soft against my cheek, and I remembered the feel of her lips against mine.
This isn’t the time to think about that.
The engines changed pitch again, and this time the whine was ear piercing. We shoved our hands over our ears. After what seemed an eternity, the sound subsided, and the vessel leveled out. The ship slowed down until it seemed almost stationary. Then there was a final jarring sound as the legs hit solid ground.
We had landed.
The ship began moving again, but this time without the use of its engines. The door above us slid open, and I flew us up to the gap where we carefully peered out. We were inside a giant factory. The ship—and several others like it—was being carried along on a massive conveyor belt. Ahead of us lay an open furnace.
Time to get out.
I flew us down to a walkway below. It was hot here, and I didn’t think the heat was all produced by the factory. The humidity was overpowering. It had to be ninety percent. Multiple walkways were both above and below us. Through a faraway gap in the ceiling, I glimpsed a dirty brown patch of sky.
The factory was mostly deserted. A few aliens wearing the same collars were crossing a walkway below us. Ahead of us, two Tagaar turned a bend and started towards us.
‘Here goes nothing,’ I muttered.
We had bet everything—including our lives—that the Tagaar would be fooled by our collars. But what if they weren’t? What if they could instantly tell that we were wearing them as a subterfuge.
‘What will we do if this doesn’t work?’ Brodie whispered.
‘Uh,’ I said, unsure as to how to answer. ‘Die?’
The Tagaar continued towards us. The nearer they drew, the more uncomfortable I felt. I tried not to stare at them, but I had to be ready if things went wrong. The men drew closer and closer until they were almost on us.
Then they brushed by as if we didn’t exist.
Brodie and I didn’t speak until we entered an elevator at the end of the walkway.
‘Wow,’ Brodie said. ‘This might just work.’
‘You had doubts?’
Brodie just rolled her eyes.
We took the elevator to the ground floor. From there, we made our way to an exit. Passing slaves, I glanced at one or two, but they didn’t make eye contact.
They’re afraid to look sideways, I thought.
We reached the outside world—and gasped. The heat was terrible. It had been bad inside the factory, but now I realized it had been air-conditioned. Out here, it was overpowering.
The sky was even worse than I’d thought. It was a murky, brown color, like sludge at the bottom of a drain. The air carried the scent of molten metal. How could anyone live here for a day, let alone a lifetime?
‘No wonder the Tagaar are conquering other people’s worlds,’ Brodie murmured. ‘Their own planet is unliveable.’
‘They’ve certainly made a mess of it,’ I agreed.
Now that we were outside the factory, I was uncertain where to go. We didn’t have a map. Fortunately, there was an animated map further down the block. Pausing before it, I peered at it in confusion. Then Brodie pointed at a square located in the middle.
‘There,’ she said. ‘It’s the symbol for Shogarth. I remember Mister Okada showing me. That must be the location of Shogarth’s tomb.’
‘I think you’re right.’ I peered more closely. ‘That looks a long way from here. How will we get there?’
Her finger traced a line that crossed the city. ‘I think that’s some kind of railway,’ she said. ‘We’ll have to change at the main terminal.’
Continuing down the block, we reached a transport station. It wasn’t a railway, but a monorail suspended between buildings. Climbing the stairs, we found ourselves on a dirty station with three Tagaar at one end, and half a dozen slaves at the other. I slowed, ready to wait for the monorail.
Then Brodie grabbed my
arm, dragging me after her.
The platforms are segregated, I realized.
We stood amongst the slaves. They were from many different worlds. Once again, I noticed they appeared downtrodden, unclean, and exhausted. Rage built up within me again, but I forced it down.
I need to stay focused on the mission. We’ll save millions of lives if we succeed.
The monorail arrived, and we shuffled in. It turned out most of the carriage was designated for the Tagaar, with a tiny portion at one end for slaves. We huddled close together. A young girl met my eye, then looked through me.
The monorail wound through the city. Much of it looked more like an industrialized wasteland than a place where people lived. Smoke rose from dozens of factories. It looked like parts of the city were being torn down to build more prominent buildings. It was late in the day, and the terrible bronze color of the sky grew even worse.
Brodie grabbed my arm as the monorail swept between two buildings.
‘Look,’ she hissed.
I glanced out. A structure I recognized immediately lay at the heart of the city—the tomb of Shogarth.
The monorail drew to a halt. Ebony and I trailed out after the others. We followed the crowd along a wide corridor that fed into a massive hall. It was the biggest room I had ever seen. There were tens of thousands of people heading in all directions. It quickly became evident that this transportation hub wasn’t just set up for the monorail. Through enormous glass windows at the end, I could see spaceships taking off every few seconds. Undoubtedly this was a hub for the whole planet. Probably even the Tagaar empire.
We crossed to another corridor that led to a different monorail system. Within minutes we were headed to another part of the city. Disembarking, we continued until a huge temple came into view.
Brodie drew me to one side. ‘That’s the easy part done,’ she said. ‘Now, it gets harder.’
I peered dismally at the temple.
Couldn’t she have lied?
Chapter Nineteen
Teen Superheroes Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 87
